Sure three spots in dance and pairs but men 1 and ladies 2. They were supposed to have a good ladies program! Should anyone be punished for the catastrophe of this worlds in singles skating?

This is so Soviet Union .

Send the entire kit and kaboodle, administrators, coaches, skaters, trainers, masseuses, cooks and boot-polishers (the boot-lickers can stay) to count trees in Siberia; that way there's zero chance of missing the offending miscreant.

Top Russian girls are only 16. They are not ready to challenge skaters like Kim, Kostner and Mao who are much older and experienced. Normally after an Olympics the top veteran skaters and medalists retire and the new girls take over. Not this cycle. The gold and silver medalists from Vancouver are still skating and will be in Sochi and veterans like Kostner and Suzuki also didn't retire. Plus Tuk and Adelina didn't have enough time before the Olympics to really establish themselves. One Worlds appearance before the Olympics is just not enough time. Mao and Kim had almost 4 years to build there reputation before the 2010 Olympics.

They dont have any good mens skaters, and their ladies still have a long way to go. Their showing wasnt really a surprise. OK it might have been thought Sotnikova and Tuktamysheva could do somewhat better and get the Russians 3 spots for Sochi, but that wasnt even a sure thing.

Send the entire kit and kaboodle, administrators, coaches, skaters, trainers, masseuses, cooks and boot-polishers (the boot-lickers can stay) to count trees in Siberia; that way there's zero chance of missing the offending miscreant.

Pairs and Ice Dance did ok, although ladies a bit disappointing but there wasn't any real chance when Kim Yuna announced her comeback
It was a bit shortsighted , they are 2018 skaters NOT 2014.

Gorshkov is very well respected
might as well fire Tarasova then etc for having too much influence and sending Kovtun

Sure three spots in dance and pairs but men 1 and ladies 2. They were supposed to have a good ladies program! Should anyone be punished for the catastrophe of this worlds in singles skating?

No. It wasn't a catastrophe at all. OK, maybe sending Kovtun was a bone-headed decision, but this is Sotnikova's and Tuktamysheva's first Worlds. Finishing in the top 10 is actually a GOOD result for first-timers. Plus, it's worth noting that this year's Worlds was one of the deepest fields in awhile for the ladies. Sotnikova's and Tuktamysheva's point totals this year would have gotten Russia three spots last year (5th + 7th).

I actually thought the outcome was okay - pairs gold is huge, I was very surprised and happy to see B/S take bronze in dance, I/K were a bit disappointing but by no means disaster, they are still a young team and they still finished in the top 10 with a respectable score. Same goes for Liza and Adelina - Liza's SP was a bit of a letdown but she came back very strong in the FS, Adelina held it together in BOTH programs which is huge for her, their results are maybe not the absolute best they could have done but still very good and respectable considering the depth of this field and that both girls are just 16. As for Kovtun, yeah that was a bit of a letdown, but 2 spots for men was a crapshoot anyways without Plushenko, I still thought Kovtun skated pretty well in the FS, and 17th as a 17 year old in this deep a field really isn't a bad result, especially given the mistakes he had. Also, Leonova's meltdown is just an argument as for why switching up the men's team may not have been wise after all or made a difference. The fed swapped Gosviani for Leonova and Leonova tanked, Gosviani may not have scored or placed better, but Leonova completely underperformed and was lucky to get the scores she did so it doesn't even matter. Then for the men, the fed didn't swap Kovtun for Menshov and Kovtun didn't make top 10 - so there you have it, the switched one of the teams and it didn't work out, didn't switch the other and it didn't work out. There's no way to know if Menshov would have done better, my guess is he probably would have but not good enough to make the top 10, so in that sense, I think giving Kovtun the experience is worth it because he is so young and has a lot of promise for the future whereas Menshov is almost 30 and on his way out, surely after next season he will retire.

It's sad we only get to see 2 Russian girls in Sochi next season but in a way maybe it's good because it will push the girls to do better, Liza to not mess up the SP and choose programs that show her off better, Adelina to work on getting full rotation credit for her jumps and not making headcase mistakes. Julia still has a chance too but she's soo young still and has plenty to work on so it's not a travesty if we don't get to see her until 2018. And then apart from those 3, everyone else has really been disappointing recently anyways - Leonova, Korobeynikova, Makarova, Shelepen, Biryukova, etc. or is otherwise very young, like Radionova who is not even old enough for Sochi, or Pogorilaya who is just the same age as Julia but with minimal experience so again 2018 will probably be a better time for her anyways, even Gosviani is only 16 so if she can improve her technical side, 2018 isn't out of the question either. Russian ladies are in a transitional age and I think Liza and Adelina have done VERY well this season given all the pressure on them and the obvious difficulties of dealing with the physical and mental changes of adolescence.

Kovtun bombed the SP and the second half of the FS and was 17th. Menshov has been very consistent all season and would very likely have finished top 10. That was a HUGE mistake, but I think the heavy hand of Tarasova was behind Kovtun's selection. Tatiana wields a lot of power from behind the scenes.

As for the ladies, who else could they have sent? Tuk and Sot medaled at Europeans, Tuk made it to the GPF, and Sot won a GP medal. Lipnitskaia and Radionova are too young, and Pogorilaya doesn't have the experience. The third lady was a choice between Alena Leonova and Nikol Gosviani. Gosviani was just OK at Euros, and at least Alena had a World silver medal on her resume. Too bad she laid the same bomb at worlds she'd been laying all season.

Pogorilaya is too young too, she is the same age as Julia. I thought she was born in April 97, but in reality April 98. Had she been old enough I think she would have been a smart choice for the 3rd spot, and likely would have been sent as she finished ahead of Gosviani and Leonova (and anyone else in consideration not already on the team) at Nationals and was really consistent this season as a whole. Gosviani should have gotten to go here but the result would have likely been similar but oh well. 2018 may be better for these girls anyways, if Julia is still struggling with injuries and puberty next season it may be just as well if she doesn't make it to the Olympics so she doesn't get pushed too hard too fast and wind up seriously injured or damaging her confidence.

Pogorilaya is too young too, she is the same age as Julia. I thought she was born in April 97, but in reality April 98. Had she been old enough I think she would have been a smart choice for the 3rd spot, and likely would have been sent as she finished ahead of Gosviani and Leonova (and anyone else in consideration not already on the team) at Nationals and was really consistent this season as a whole. Gosviani should have gotten to go here but the result would have likely been similar but oh well. 2018 may be better for these girls anyways, if Julia is still struggling with injuries and puberty next season it may be just as well if she doesn't make it to the Olympics so she doesn't get pushed too hard too fast and wind up seriously injured or damaging her confidence.

Send the entire kit and kaboodle, administrators, coaches, skaters, trainers, masseuses, cooks and boot-polishers (the boot-lickers can stay) to count trees in Siberia; that way there's zero chance of missing the offending miscreant.